Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, I just borrow them for fun.

Acknowledgements: A very, very, very special thanks to TZEGHA. She has been my muse throughout the story and her feedback has been priceless all along. Thank you for pushing me to do my best. You are a great beta.

“Stay” – PART II

Silently, sheltered by the penumbra, he had been observing her, waiting in the shadows like a predator pursuing its prey. It was getting late and she had barely moved from the same spot by the outer railing facing the sea in nearly an hour.

He could see her profile from where he was standing under the stairway. She seemed lost in thought, her face grim with tears streaming freely down her cheeks. He wondered why she had been rubbing her right wrist, her face twisted inward with what looked like pain, maybe anger. The cool evening air made her shiver slightly and he saw her wrap her thin shawl around her shoulders.

Unaware of the attentive presence in the shadows, Inara found herself consumed by the agony of her last conversation with Mal. His words pierced through her mind and she was unable to stop their incessant ringing in her ears.

I’ve already let you go.

It was precisely what she had wanted—exactly what she needed. Why did it hurt so much then? Just hearing him say those words had felt like somebody had snapped her last hanging thread making her fall into a dark abyss with nothing to hold on to.

It was the point of no return—the door back to Serenity had been permanently closed.

She turned around with a heavy sigh, her face composed, cool, as if she hadn't been blinded by tears only moments before. It was then when she caught a glimpse of a man leaning against the wall by the stairs leading to the upper deck, quietly and unquestionably observing her.

She began walking towards the stranger who was now moving away, still unable to make out his features in the darkness.

With a mixture between uneasiness and curiosity she followed him, lifting her long ski